PB2405: BAICALIN MODULATES INTESTINAL FLORA TO TREAT AGVHD
Authors: Jingrong Yang, Xing Cui
Journal: HemaSphere (2023)

Topic: 21. Stem cell transplantation - Experimental Background: Acute graft-versus-host disease is one of the most dangerous complications, and there is no specific treatment for it. It is written in the literature of traditional Chinese medicine that Scutellaria can treat “ Various thermal diseases, jaundice, watery diarrhoea, blood abnormality, malignant sores, and fire ulcers.” This is highly compatible with the clinical manifestations of acute graft-versus-host disease such as fever, jaundice, abdominal pain, diarrhea, a maculopapular rash, and mucosal ulceration and may become a specific medicine for the treatment of aGVHD. Therefore, we extracted baicalin, the main component of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, to explore the curative effect of baicalin on aGVHD and its influence on intestinal flora. Aims: Exploring the effect of baicalin on intestinal flora in the treatment of aGVHD Methods: The CB6F1 mice were divided into three groups at random: normal, model, and baicalin,16 mice in each group. The mice in the model and baicalin groups were irradiated with 60CoX-rays. After irradiation, a single nucleated cell suspension of Balb/c H-2d was administered through the tail vein. Baicalin group was given baicalin model group and normal group with the same volume of normal saline for 15 days after modeling. The intestinal flora of the mice in each group was examined using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Results: 1. Efficacy of baicalin in the treatment of aGVHD Of the 32 mice used to record survival times, 16 mice in the model group died within 15d. The survival time of the baicalin group was significantly longer, with some mice still alive up to 28 days after transplantation (Figure A). 2. Analysis of the diversity of intestinal flora in each group The Venn diagram showed that there were 716 OTUs in the blank group，592 OTUs in the model group and 624 OTUs in the baicalin group（Figure B）。The gradual flattening of the Specaccum curve for this experiment indicated that the sampling was adequate for data analysis（Figure C）。The Simpson index demonstrated α diversity, and a larger Simpson index value indicated a lower community diversity and a significant increase in flora diversity after baicalein treatment (Figure D).The difference between samples （βdiversity）was demonstrated by principal component analysis which showed that there was little overlap between the three sample groups, suggesting that the β diversity analysis was better（Figure E）. 3. Effect of baicalin on intestinal florad At the Phylum level, Cyanobacteria and Verrucomicrobia were significantly higher（P<0. 05）and Patescibacteria was significantly lower（P 0.05）after treatment with baicalin. At the genus level, Akkermansia、Rhodobacteraceae_uncultured were significantly higher after baicalin treatment （P 0.05），Muribaculaceae_unclassified、Oscillibacter、Ruminiclostridium、Ruminococcaceae_UCG-004significantly lower（P<0.05） Summary/Conclusion: Baicalin can prolong the survival time of aGVHD mice, enhance the diversity of flora and significantly reduce the abundance of conditionally pathogenic bacteria such as Muribaculaceae, which can be used to treat aGVHD by improving the structure of the intestinal flora.Keywords: Acute graft-versus-host disease